Some tech companies have been hesitant to bring workers back into the office. In May, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky called the office an “anachronistic form” that was “from a pre-digital age” after the company announced that employees could work from home forever.
In contrast, according to reports, Elon Musk, the Tesla CEO, issued an ultimatum to its executive staff on Tuesday, calling for the workers to come into the office and stop “phoning it in” or quit.
While the world economists have concluded that remote work had little impact on workers’ ability to get stuff done and may have even increased productivity, the mixed opinion in the real world is proof enough that there are extreme emotions about the working arrangements – virtual, hybrid or all-hands on premise!
The requirement depends on geography, industry, and the business on its own.
Here is a tabular representation of advantages and disadvantages of working on premise vs from home vs pursuing a hybrid model.
| Hybrid | On-Premise | Virtual | ||||
| Advantage | Disadvantage | Advantage | Disadvantage | Advantage | Disadvantage | |
|
Employee
|
Improved Employee Well-being | Potential burnout | Building of behavior and interpersonal skills | Regular distractions | Increased Productivity | Social Isolation |
| Effective Increase in Income | Increased reliance on technology |
Establishing new links and contacts
|
Increased stress and/or anxiety | No Unnecessary Meetings | Faster burnout | |
| Increased Mobility | Stunted opportunities for promotion and growth | Lack of privacy. | Reduced Carbon Footprint | |||
|
Employer
|
Reduced Real Estate Costs | Costs of redesigning the office layout | Sense of belonging and pride with the employer. |
Huge real-estate cost, including technology and security Opex
|
Bigger Talent Pool | Hidden Technological Costs |
| Improved Worker Productivity | Increased cost on team-building when there’s the distance |
Workspace optimization based on team requirement
|
Faster Time to Market | Potential Security Risks | ||
| Improved Retention Rates | A disconnect between in-office employees and remote employees. |
Improved Employee Retention Rates
|
Can Be Tough to Track Progress
|
|||
| Bigger Talent Pool |
Not suitable for all industries
|
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| Ability to Grow Headcount Without Added Space Costs | ||||||
| Improved Visibility of Senior Leaders | ||||||
In our line of work – design and build – for example, while virtual meeting technology is fantastic, it has its limitations. There is no real substitute for a face-to-face meeting. We cannot build a structure or design an office virtually.
Anantha, our CEO, believes “Besides, the best ideas don’t come out of zoom meetings, in fact, come from a war room with a white board and brilliant minds collaborating in the same space.
Although, I’ll also say that the multigenerational workforce needs to be encouraged to choose wisely on levers of work sparks and thus matching the purpose of selves with that of the company.
The employer brand, translating into pride for your organization with the office space design at its physical realm plays an integral part in all of this.”
To conclude, we will say this : “The goal is to build a harmonious work culture and amazing company – whatever archives it!”
